The use of vehicle immobilizers to prevent the unauthorized movement of automobiles and other wheeled vehicles has been known for some time. The original rudimentary devices were designed for the same basic purpose as those today. That is, to prevent theft and to assure the payment of parking fines prior to movement of the vehicle. Thus, the use of vehicle immobilizers has become widespread with law enforcement, parking attendants, city governments and individuals concerned with the theft of their vehicles, wheeled trailers and even aircrafts.
Unfortunately, the vehicle immobilizing devices currently known in the art are difficult to install, can damage the vehicle, are prone to being removed by unauthorized personnel and are not versatile for use on a variety of vehicles and wheel assemblies.
One problem associated with many vehicle immobilizer designs is the ease upon which they can be removed by irate vehicle owners and thieves. This is a result of inadequate points of engagement or contact between the immobilizing device and the vehicle wheel assembly. As used herein, the term "vehicle wheel assembly" is defined as a vehicle wheel and hubcap, an interconnected tire, brake assembly and in some vehicle designs tie rods which are used for support and/or steering purposes. The brake assembly may include a drum or disk brake with or without a brake backing plate. Thus, without adequate points of contact, the vehicle immobilizer can be pried and pulled off. This often occurs in conjunction with letting the air out of the tire until the device can be removed from the wheel assembly. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 24,712 to Marugg and U.S. Pat. No. 2,960,857 to Winter both utilize only 3 points of engagement on the vehicle wheel assembly. These points of contact include the outer hubcap, the outer wheel surface and the inner wheel surface.
Another problem associated with many types of vehicle immobilizers is the difficulty associated with installation and removal. This is due to their generally heavy weight and inner and outer arm assemblies which must be precisely positioned on the inner and outer wheel rims with very limited space. Thus, proper installation is time consuming and often performed improperly by unskilled installers, resulting in damage to the vehicle wheel assembly or unauthorized removal.
Yet another problem associated with many types of vehicle immobilizers is the permanent damage caused to the vehicle inner wheel, outer wheel, wheel rims, hubcaps and/or braking mechanisms. The damage to the hubcap and or outer wheel rim is the result of significant force and abrasion from a rigid metallic plate or arm assembly which is pressed against the hubcap or outer wheel. Any prying or movement of the dome will permanently scratch and/or dent the hubcap or outer wheel causing considerable damage.
The outer and inner wheel rims may also be damaged with many types of vehicle immobilizing devices as a result of the rigid, non-moving rim jaws which are engaged to the inner or outer rim, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,960,857 to Winter. Any prying of the vehicle immobilizer may result in the rims becoming bent or disfigured resulting in expensive repair or replacement costs. Further, since the rim jaws are not capable of moving longitudinally and/or in a vertical direction with respect to the outer arm of the vehicle immobilizer, the vehicle immobilizer cannot be properly fitted to numerous types and sizes of wheel assembly. As a result, there is often an improper installation which permits the removal of the vehicle immobilizer and/or damage to the vehicle wheel assembly.
Finally, an additional problem associated with many vehicle immobilizing devices is a lack of versatility for use on a variety of models of wheel assemblies and automobiles. Thus, even for a certain size or model of vehicle many vehicle immobilizers cannot be used interchangeably on both the right side and left side of a vehicle. Thus, installers must have numerous models in stock for a variety of vehicles rather than utilize a versatile, universal model capable of use on a variety of vehicles and wheel assemblies.